Ze Tian Ji (Way of Choices)

Chapter 923 – The Journey of Old Youths in Mount Li

Tang Thirty-Six’s gaze moved between Chen Changsheng and Zhexiu as he asked, “Why is it that when we’re discussing such a grave and frightening issue, the two of you can be so calm?”

Chen Changsheng replied, “As I said to you in the Orthodox Academy, I had an illness when I was a child that made it so I wouldn’t live past the age of twenty.”

It was impossible for Tang Thirty-Six to forget this.

Back then, the Orthodox Academy had been shrouded in clouds of sorrow.

In their ears, every word of Chen Changsheng’s from back then had been his last will and testament.

Zhexiu commented, “I’ve also had this illness since I was a child.”

Yes, from a certain perspective, Chen Changsheng and Zhexiu had lived similarly tragic lives.

Upon coming to this world, they knew that it would be impossible for them to stay for too long.

There was no better way to describe the saying ‘facing death to live’.

Presumably, they had spent a period of time downcast, disappointed, perhaps even in despair, spending every waking hour staring at the shadow of death. Finally, they became numb, and thus calm.

At present, they were still quite young, but in their stance towards death, they were more apathetic than the vast majority of this world’s elders.

This made one sigh in praise, but also in sorrow and grief.

Hu Thirty-Two sighed.

Ye Xiaolian, who had not spoken at all, turned around and wiped her eyes.

The cliff was quiet, the atmosphere somewhat depressed.

Tang Thirty-Six had a stranger feeling, an inexplicable sense of apology. He muttered to himself, “Should I have also gotten a childhood illness?”

Zhexiu expressionlessly said, “You’ve always been sick.”

Tang Thirty-Six widened his eyes and asked, “What illness?”

Chen Changsheng proposed, “The illness of wealth?”

Seeing as they were still in the mood to tease him, Tang Thirty-Six knew that circumstances were not so tense and disastrous as he imagined. Slightly relieved, he patted Zhexiu on the shoulder and said, “Then let’s go. Whether it’s a dragon pool, tiger cave, or the Myriad Sword Array, we’ll accompany you today and satisfy your final wishes.”

He was naturally referring to the mountain shrouded in clouds across from them.

Zhexiu corrected, “It’s not for certain that I’ll die, so you can’t say that it’s my final wish.”

Chen Changsheng approved, “That’s right. I’ve already lived past the age of twenty.”

Tang Thirty-Six asked, “Then why do we have to go to Mount Li?”

Chen Changsheng answered, “Because it’s right there.”

Why were they going to Mount Li?

Because Qi Jian was at Mount Li and Zhexiu wanted to see her. It was just that simple.

And besides, Mount Li was very close to Holy Maiden Peak, so it didn’t take much time to visit.

To Chen Changsheng, there were two reasons for this journey to Mount Li. One was to satisfy Zhexiu’s desire, but the important reason was that he had once read a treatise on the sword in the Daoist Canon that had mentioned a certain method in the Mount Li Sword Sect’s possession. This method could help Zhexiu stabilize his illness, but Chen Changsheng didn’t know if there was anyone in Mount Li that still cultivated this method.

The chain was barely visible in the clouds, swaying in the wind. It seemed very dangerous, but to Chen Changsheng’s party, crossing it was not a hard task.

In a short time, they crossed the seemingly bottomless canyon and reached the mountain on the other side.

With Ye Xiaolian’s direction, they traversed the steep mountain paths to the peaks in the north.

They walked for some time, winding their way around several verdant mountains. Finally, they saw the main peak of Mount Li in the distance.

Mount Li’s main peak was divided into two sections by the clouds. The bottom was verdant slopes while above the clouds was naked rock, a stone pillar that soared to the heavens. In the dazzling sunlight, it looked from the distance like a massive sword prepared to pierce into the sky.

As they gazed at this stone mountain, Chen Changsheng’s party felt a fierce sword intent assaulting their senses.

They even felt that the light reflected off this mountain could become a sword Qi spanning the world at any moment.

As they approached this mountain, the feeling grew more and more vivid. However, they never saw a flying sword come to inquire as to their purpose, only the occasional sword glow in the depths of the clouds. Through Ye Xiaolian’s introduction, they learned that the disciples of the various peaks were probably engaged in diligent practice.

Chen Changsheng was extremely talented in the art of the sword and had also spent a lot of time researching the Mount Li Sword Style. As a result, just from the sword glows alone, he could see what sword style the disciples were practicing, what path of the sword they cultivated. He was full of praise for the level that these disciples had already reached.

Zhexiu’s and Tang Thirty-Six’s impressions of these sword glows were more instinctual. They felt that the sword glows were blinding, the sword intents mighty but also honest and straightforward, giving off an aura of discipline and strength. They seemed youthful and spirited, brimming with vigor and vitality.

Even after all the stories between them and the Mount Li Sword Sect in the last few years, Tang Thirty-Six still didn’t like it, but even he had to admit that this sight made him recall the Orthodox Academy.

His most beloved Orthodox Academy.

It was the same for Zhexiu and Chen Changsheng. They even felt that if they hadn’t entered the Orthodox Academy, cultivating in Mount Li was also a most excellent choice.

As they took the stone path, they gradually climbed to higher altitudes. The forests chilled, their leaves growing sparse. The winds began to strengthen, and the clouds greatly dispersed. Gradually, they were able to clearly make out the sights on those mountains.

They saw countless clearings on the cliffs, covered with sword glows, while in front of a few secluded caves, disciples sat cross-legged as they comprehended the sword.

Ye Xiaolian explained to them that those caves were often the residences of Mount Li’s elders while the pavilion surrounded by maples was the Discipline Hall. The stone building higher up was the Sword Hall, and the several dozen little white courtyards spread out along the clearings were meant for disciples, while up ahead was…

“What sort of stone is this?”

Tang Thirty-Six pointed at a squarish stone on the side of the road, glossy and smooth, as if it had been washed for tens of thousands of years.

In terms of shape, there was nothing special about this stone, but they could faintly sense a sword aura from it, so it was clearly not something ordinary.

Ye Xiaolian explained, “The founder of Mount Li honed his sword for three hundred years to complete his Dao. It is said that this is the stone that he used to hone his sword.”

Tang Thirty-Six commented, “If that legend is true, then this really is a treasure. I wonder how many crystals one would get if they auctioned it off at Xuelao City.”

Ye Xiaolian snapped, “What you need to ponder is not how much money you can exchange it for, but how many days you can live with all of the Mount Li Sword Sect at your heels.”

Tang Thirty-Six indifferently said, “It’s just a joke; why so serious?”

After saying this, he intended to walk past, but he was stopped again by Ye Xiaolian.

“Now, this stone is called the Sword Separating Stone. Any cultivator who wants to enter Mount Li’s main peak needs to remove their swords here to show respect.”

Ye Xiaolian added, “If you’re just walking past, don’t blame me if something happens to you.”

“Truly quite arrogant.”

Tang Thirty-Six didn’t have a good impression of the Mount Li Sword Sect in the first place, and he was the one who was usually the most arrogant of all, so he said, “If I don’t remove my sword, what will happen?”

Ye Xiaolian knew of his temper and didn’t continue to agitate him. “It’s also fine to not remove your sword, but then you have to wait for a Mount Li disciple from the mountain to pick you up.”

Tang Thirty-Six thought this very troublesome and didn’t believe that anything would really happen, so he walked past the stone.

Chen Changsheng shook his head at this sight.

Just when Tang Thirty-Six walked past the Sword Separating Stone, a pure and mild sword aura, not fierce at all, suddenly emerged from the stone.

A ripple of light ran across the sheath of the Wenshui Sword, upon which it began to buzz, as if responding, explaining.

Whooshwhooshwhooshwhoosh. Several dozen white streaks shot out of the clouds.

Several dozen swords arrived, quietly hovering in the air, their sharp points aimed at Chen Changsheng’s party.